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Compulsory reverence? Bill requiring 9/11 observance misses the mark

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Beams of light were tested at the former site of the World Trade Center two days before this year's anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks. The Tribute in Light is a traditional part of the annual memorial..
(Photo: James Donnelly)

Sept. 11, 2001, is perhaps the most unforgettable day in the lives of millions of Americans, and certainly for most New Yorkers.

That terrible morning and the painful aftermath is a profound, haunting and yet almost sacred memory for many people, and rightly so. Not just for the families and friends of the thousands who died, but for all the others who witnessed it in one way or another and experienced the horror in an intensely personal way.

That’s why 9/11 is commemorated each year at somber ceremonies large and small, from Lower Manhattan to Washington to Shanksville, Pa., and thousands of other places. Many people feel a duty to honor the memory of the dead and recall what they felt on that morning.

So when Tottenville High School senior Jacqueline Candella emailed a letter to the Advance expressing her disgust with school administrators for taking absolutely no notice of 9/11 on the 12th anniversary earlier this year, a lot of people were shocked.

There was not even a moment of silence or an announcement on the public address system.

Her letter, which she said grew out of the general student sentiment at the school, sparked much comment, most in agreement, in social media and elsewhere.

After all, Tottenville is in New York City, which suffered the greatest loss in 2001 and Staten Island was hit particularly hard. More than 30 former Tottenville students alone died.

Was it a bureaucratic oversight or deliberate attempt to downplay the significance of the day? The principal wouldn’t return the Advance’s phone calls on the matter. The Department of Education had no comment on the snub except to say it was “a local school decision.”

So what should be done about it?

Well, we’d venture to guess that it won’t happen again at Tottenville High. After the embarrassing outcry this fall, we suspect the administration will be sure to have some sort of acknowledgment of the day in future years.

But that’s not good enough for South Shore Councilman Vincent Ignizio. He introduced legislation last week that would make a moment of silence in city schools mandatory on 9/11.

Given the prevailing sentiment and the importance of the date in this city, the measure will inevitably sail through the Council sooner or later.

“Clearly, I was surprised that this was not part of the requirements for schools in the city — we as a city suffered so much, and we speak about never forgetting,” Mr. Ignizio said. “I think that this rises to the level of a local law, and it should be mandated in the city.”

But should it?

There’s no doubt about the grim meaning of the day, especially on Staten Island. And perhaps it is shameful that a public high school overlooked the occasion entirely.

But if we start compelling people to display reverence, is it reverence . . . or mere obedience?

It’s a slippery slope as to what symbolic observances are mandated by law in the public schools.

We’re sure veterans of World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War have their own days of infamy on which many comrades died for their country — D-Day or Pearl Harbor, for example. For them, those days may be equal to or greater in terrible significance than 9/11.

We don’t fault Mr. Ignizio for his impulse. No doubt, many Staten Islanders feel the same way. We, too, were appalled at the Tottenville High School administration’s apparent indifference to the day.

But reverent observance of the event should not have to be mandated; it should be something people want to do. Surely, making that observance compulsory takes something away from it.